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H. Wilson Sundt, the one-time CEO of Tucson-based Sundt Construction who built a legacy of landmark projects around the globe, has died.

Sundt died Monday after a years-long battle with cancer. He was 75.

"He was a very intense individual. A very bright guy, a very quiet man," said Corky Collins, who knew Sundt for 50 years. "He had a lot of energy, and he loved the business. He loved to be out on projects."

Sundt, known to relatives and friends as "Unky" because he was named after his uncle, understood all aspects of the construction business.

He started working for his family's company in 1948, during summer breaks from Tucson High School. After earning a bachelor of science degree in business administration at the University of Arizona, marrying his college sweetheart, Dottie, and completing a two-year stint in the Army, Sundt joined the company full time in 1957 as a carpenter's apprentice.

Over the years, he and one of his brothers, Robert Sundt, increasingly took on leadership roles, guiding the company through an explosive period of growth in the 1960s and '70s. The brothers took Sundt from a local construction company to a viable competitor for national building projects, and then went on to win international contracts.

Their most notable projects include completing the Apollo 11 launch pad at Florida's Cape Canaveral; Kitt Peak Observatory, southwest of Tucson; the relocation of the London Bridge to Lake Havasu City; construction of the first underground ballistic-missile launching facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California; an 11-year contract totaling more than $750 million building communities for Arabian American Oil Co. workers in Saudi Arabia; and the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.

To date, Sundt Construction has completed projects in 21 states and 11 countries.

Sundt was named one of the top 100 construction companies in the nation numerous times by Engineering-News Record, an industry magazine that featured Robert and Wilson on the cover in 1977 and 1990 for their integrity and innovation.

Under the brothers' leadership, the company developed a new method to construct high-rise buildings called slip-forming, which allowed them to build one floor per day.

And in 1972, Sundt Construction made news when it was among the first companies to develop an employee stock-ownership plan to ensure a successful financial future for the firm and its workers.

"We figured out if it was going to stay private, we'd have to have turnover of shareholders," Wilson Sundt said in a 2006 Arizona Daily Star article. Wilson Sundt became president of the company in 1980 and took on duties as chief executive officer in 1983.

Despite the company's success under the leadership of the Sundt brothers, it is not Wilson Sundt's business acumen or his construction knowledge that former colleagues most often remember. His true legacy, company spokesman Charlie Boyd said, is rooted in his integrity and consideration for his employees.

"He cared very deeply for every employee in the company," Boyd said. "If an employee had a personal situation … you could count on Wilson to be very understanding and very concerned, wanting to know if there was anything he or the company could do to help."

It's a values system that remained strong even after Sundt retired in 1999, said his successor, current CEO Doug Pruitt.

More than 40 years ago, when Pruitt was considering whether to work for Sundt, he asked around about the company.

"It was not their construction acumen that sold me," Pruitt said. "It was that they had an incredible amount of character in dealing with the employees. I've always seen a high level of community and industry activity from both the sons."

Wilson Sundt, a father of three, was well-known for his community involvement.

He was a member of the Tucson Conquistadores and also served on the boards of Magma Copper, Schuff Steel, the University of Arizona Foundation, the Tucson Airport Authority and Tucson Electric Power Co. His work on behalf of TEP and its parent company, UniSource Energy, was recognized in 2003 when the Irvington Road Power Plant was renamed the H. Wilson Sundt Generating Station.

Sundt's accomplishments were recognized by other local organizations, including the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, which awarded him its first Free Enterprise Award in 1989; the UA, with the 1982 Distinguished Citizen award and the 1989 Medallion Award for graduates who demonstrated exemplary lifelong service to their community; and Tucson High School, which inducted him into the Badger Hall of Fame. He also received the Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce 2000 Founders Award.

Wilson and Robert Sundt, both former Eagle Scouts, each received the Good Scout award, given by the Catalina Council of the Boy Scouts of America, in 2000. Earlier this year, the brothers received the Arizona Construction Industry Pioneer Award from the Construction Financial Management Association.

In addition to his wife, Dottie, and his brother, Robert, Sundt is survived by his children, Tom, Jerry and Perri; six grandchildren; and a niece and a nephew.

Services are pending.